This information comes to light in a media statement issued by the City in which those who had reduced their consumption levels were thanked, however, the City warned that “it remains crunch time and further reductions are vital as the draw-down rate of the dams continues to stay pronounced due to the climatic conditions”.

Further, the City of Cape Town Twitter handle is issuing reminders to social media users to save water:

The City said in the statement that consumption was at 751 million litres per day, while the collective usage target is 700 million litres per day.

Pressure reduction initiatives were being tested by the City in a bid to reduce consumption.

The City’s mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services and energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg, said: “The City will carry on deploying a basket of consumption reduction interventions. The sustained support of every one of our close to one million consumers is key. We also continue to engage with the top 20 000 consumers across residential, business, industrial and government properties to ensure that consumption is brought down.

“As it pertains to our top 100 residential consumers, where leaks on private property were the cause for the unacceptably high use, private leaks have been identified and fixed. These consumers have been removed from the list. This is the outcome that we want: for residents to take responsibility for consumption and then to reduce it. We are extremely encouraged by the response across all sectors.

“In addition, the City continues planning for the implementation of contingency and emergency measures in conjunction with the National Department of Water and Sanitation.”

In January, a video demonstrating the low water level of Theewaterskloof Dam was uploaded on to YouTube. The dam is apparently the largest that serves Cape Town’s drinking water supply. The summary to the YouTube video states: “Please share this if you are struggling to understand why we need water restrictions and how this directly affects you, the end consumer who drinks water.”

The video has gone viral having received more than 135 000 views by March 14 since it was published on January 18.